Graves' Sniper Friend
by Lake Strauss
Summary: Malcolm Graves is The Outlaw, known across the land as a criminal, robber and gambler. But little did people know that he had a close sniper friend. Would you like to know their little adventure? All chapter posted.
1. Prologue

In Runeterra, many types of monsters and beasts inhabit the land. In forms and size that cannot be imagined by the mere mind. Man might have build walls to keep them out, but time to time the wild will make problems to show they are not to be taken lightly. And of all the forest that inhabit such fearful beast, The Forest of Tsarin was the most feared by man. Many people trek the forest, only to be mourn by their loved ones. No bodies to be found, they simply just disappeared.

But one man had the courage to walk through the forest alone, the beast and monster of the forest eyed him with glowing eyes. The man could feel the presence and stops, he turned and eyed back with equal if not more threatening eyes. The glowing eyes slowly faded to the darkness, decreasing in number and as they know that the man was not to be meddled with. Once the eyes were gone, the man continued his journey as if nothing happened.

The man was no other than Malcolm Graves, a criminal in every government across Runeterra, known simply as The Outlaw. He carried his shotgun Destiny by the shoulders, dismissing the fact that he was in the most dangerous forest of them all. Currently he had no mood to encounter beasts and monsters, if he had to, he would make sure that it would be quicker than taking a breath.

Malcolm's mouth had no cigar but not because of his mood, but because he had run out of stock. From time to time he would restock, but he was too busy and eventually smoked every cigars he had. It has been weeks since he had one, and his mood had turn sour to bitter as the weeks past. Graves did not care about the forest, the Bloodmoon could appear in a moment notice and he couldn't even care less. To him, the utmost important objective was to reach to The Place.

The Forest of Tsarin might have the most scariest stories to be told to a grown man, but little did people know that the forest was also the place where Malcolm Graves would get his cigars. The Place is an inn situated at the center of the forest, anyone that was careless in his journey would be loss and meet his inevitable end. But Graves knows where The Place was, he was so familiar of the path that he could arrive there blindfolded. Showing how long have he been buying his cigar from The Place.

Malcom Graves barges through a set of bushes and twigs, when he arrived to the other side, he saw an inn with the windows lighted by the fireplace inside. He smirks seeing The Place, then he approached towards the door with a slightly lighten mood. He arrived at the front door and knock the door a few times.

"What's the password?" Someone shouted from the inside with a dry voice.

"You're too old to remember it old man!" Graves answered.

"Come in then!"

Graves smiled and chuckled hearing the voice, he then turns the knob and enters the inn. He closed the door and put Destiny and his boots at the side of the door. It was the inn rules and he was respectful to it. Then he goes to the counter that was at the center of the inn, where he wanted to meet the owner of The Place named Jack. Jack was busy rolling cigars, but when Graves stands in front him, he stops and look with a stern face.

Jack is a one hundred year old troll that made money through people staying in his inn and buying his cigars. He was skinny and had the height of Graves knee if he would stand side by side with the man. The old troll wears spectacles had grey skin that was rough, abundant wrinkles and scars. Because of his age, he was always grumpy with the exception when he gets gold out of agreements or through his business.

"Been a long time old man. Miss me?" Smiled Graves.

"Well if it ain't Malcolm Graves, aren't supposed to be in prison?" Jack squinted his eyes, it seems he needs a new set of glasses.

"That was a long time ago old man, how many times do I have to tell you about that Jack." Graves took a cigar from a stack of finished cigars made by the old troll. "May I?"

A bug landed on Jack head, which he smacked it with his hand then chew it with his mouth. "You buying and staying right?"

"Of course Jack." Graves smells the cigar, such aroma exclusive to Jack's cigars. "Three months worth of it"

"Good." Jack continued to roll cigars. "Make yourself at home."

Graves chuckled and bites the cigar. He took out a matchbox and then burns one matchstick, lighting up the tip of the cigar to blazing red. He smokes the cigar, the flavours enters his lung and Graves was a happy man. Nothing better than a cigar freshly rolled by the finest cigar maker like Jack. Even though Graves preferred an aged cigar that was richer in flavour, nothing could beat a cigar from Jack, he was that good in making it.

Graves lean at the counter with his back and look at the inn, the place was dimly lighted with an impression of warmth and home. A lot of inns tried their best to recreate the atmosphere, adding bards and maidens to make it more hospitable but they failed. Only a true inn owner knew the formula and knowing the inn was owned by a hundred year old troll, Jack practically had mastered the business. Pity, trolls are not immortals.

But Graves forgets about the cruel reality and focus on the present, you live and die and there was no way out of it. In fact, Graves have made a long thought about immortality and he felt it was just a useless effort, who wants to live forever? The world that Graves knew was cruel and sometimes he himself can't go over it.

The counter was at the center of the inn, overseeing every thing. Acting the counter as the center point, the south was the entrance to the inn. On the west, was the eating area where a fire place was put and a lot of round tables surrounded the fire. There was a few Yordles cooking at the fire, a welcome addition to the inn. Just by the smell of it, Graves knows that they're making some good grub.

At the north of the inn was the bathing place, where the customers would take a shower or bath. Lastly, were the rooms at the west side of the inn. There were a total of eight rooms that the inn had and rarely it was a full house. If memory serves Graves well, not even once since the first time he visited The Place had a full house. It shows how many people that trek The Forest of Tsarin, that is not much.

Graves moved to the dining area and goes to the bookshelves while happily smoking the cigar on his mouth. He looked at the old book covers and was amazed by the fact of the old troll having such collections. Graves never liked reading, but never despise it. He took one book and blows the dust off, he reads the title.

"Illiad's Journal of The Sky Gods." Graves shrugged and goes to the empty round table that was near to the fire.

Malcolm pulled a chair and sit down, he smoked his cigar and then put it at the ash tray that was at the middle of the table. He opens the book and the contents was in beautiful writing, even to the eyes of The Outlaw. A blue yordle approached to him and asked him.

"Do you want to eat sir?" The yordle said politely.

"Not hungry but I'm kinda want something good to drink." Graves looks at the yordle and thought. "You got some Freljord Vodka?"

"Yes we do sir."

"Gimme a bottle and one shot glass, that would be enough."

"Right away sir." The yordle leaves.

Graves continues to his book and turn to the next page, the book was showing some ancient illustration of a god. It was starting to give a good impression for Graves and he was interested in the contents that the book was about offer.

A door of one the rooms opens then closes, the sound attracted Jack attention to look. The person walks pass the counter and smiled at the old troll. The old troll smack another bug and chews it, continuing his work. The person walks to the dining area and smiled seeing Graves at the round table.

"Well how small is this world, if it isn't Malcolm 'The Outlaw' Graves spending the night at The Place." Said the person happily.

Graves look at the person and he was happy to see who it was. "Amanda 'Frostbite' Snow, been a long time."

Amanda Snow was a chestnut skinned woman of Shuriman and Freljord descent. Amanda wore a black singlet and baggy pants that was white and silver in colour. She had long white hair and her eyes were icy blue, having a beautiful face and fit body that was similar to any military trained soldier. Her white hair and icy blue eyes made her known as Frostbite by the likes of people like The Outlaw.

"Didn't know you're a bookworm Outlaw?" She joked.

"Well, as long as it has my interest, a book or two won't hurt." Graves closed the book and put it down.

"Mind if I sit down?" Snow put one hand on a chair that was opposite to Graves.

"Please, help yourself. We ain't breaking any laws by sitting down and chat are we?" Graves took his cigar from the ashtray and called the yordle. "Yordle, bring one extra shot glass while you're at it!"

"Coming right up sir." The yordle answered.

Graves looks at Snow and bite his cigar. "Can't have a chat without wetting our throat with some fine vodka don't ya think?"

"As long as you're paying Graves." Amanda giggles and sat down. "I thought you stopped smoking Graves?"

"Well let's say I was too busy to smoke but suddenly it caught me back after a few years." Graves smoked his cigar. "Never regret it ever since. Heck, I'm here because I want to refill my stock."

"Some urges has to be fulfilled." Amanda shrugged. "Especially a man like you Graves."

The yordle put a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses. Graves gave the payment that the yordle asked and he give more than demanded,which made the yordle happy. Graves pours the two shot glass full and offered one to Snow, which she gratefully accepted. Another for him that Graves drank instantly, he groan of satisfaction and refilled his glass.

"So what brings Amanda Snow to The Place? Been shooting heads lately?" Graves asked.

"I just got back from a job, Freljord specifically. Been staying here for a few nights wanted to be of the grid for a while." Snow drinks and moan of satisfaction just like Graves, then took the bottle refill her glass. "I got a guy named Ragnar for a payment that was really too good to pass."

"Can't wait to hear this." Graves drinks his shot glass and refilled with a chuckle.

"So here I am, in the middle of the Freljord trying to snipe a guy that was connected with Ashe. You know her right? The Queen about to be and all of that. Ragnar was at his tribe camp and was meeting with his soldiers. It was freezing cold to a point where if you don't shiver, you'd be dead. So I was at hill with my sniper rifle Dusk, and I couldn't even see what's in front me."

"That must be one fucking storm." Graves commented.

"It was and timing could not be better. So here's the thing, Ragnar was too far for me to see and of course you can't shoot something that you can't see. Rather than going to the camp and kill Ragnar, why don't Ragnar come to me instead. I buried myself under the snow and shoot one sniper shot at the sky. The whole fucking tribe got out from their houses and Ragnar too, a second later, I got the tribe surrounding me but couldn't find me.

"Ragnar was right in front, at my sights like a food in a plate. Boom, a bullet to the head and the guy was dead. Ragnar was down and his men was screaming like "Ragnar is down!". They all grouped at the body that was right in front of me and brought the body back to the camp, then guess what?"

"They didn't find you." Graves answered.

"There, that what I want to hear." She smiled and drinks her shot glass. "By far, one of the craziest job I have ever done."

"Damn Snow, what a job you did there." Graves could not believe the story and laughs. "If it was to me, I had to kill every single one of them."

"Well Dusk is not like Destiny Graves. Since I talked about her, where is Destiny?" Snow wondered.

"There." Graves pointed using his brow. "Beside the door with my boots."

Snow looked behind and found the shotgun where it was leaning at the wall. "Mind if I hold the beast?"

"Sure, just make sure you hold them with two hands. A woman of your size can't lift it like I usually would."

"Hah! You think I can't lift the gun with one hand?" Snow got up and walked to the unique shotgun.

"Don't get yourself hurt, I'm just saying." Graves warned but deep down, he wanted to Snow to be wrong for once.

Frostbite hold Destiny by the handle and readies herself to lift it with her right hand. She lifted the gun, her bicep started to show but eventually Destiny fall to the ground. Snow was in shock while Graves can't help but laugh to see his friend struggling to lift Destiny. Snows try and try again, but failed. She eventually hold the shotgun with two hands and goes back to the table.

"What the hell is this? A shotgun or weights?" Snow questioned and put it on top of the table slowly. Though she cannot denied that it was greatly crafted shotgun, despite it being needlessly heavy.

"That, lady, is a quality gun." Graves refilled his shot glass and drinks it for the last time. He got up and stands beside Snow, explaining proudly. "Been with me after prison break, never once did she ever jammed on me."

"Bullshit." Snow crossed her arms and leaned to one leg. "Dusk is a bolt action sniper rifle and even he jammed a couple of times."

"Well I designed the gun myself and guess it proves that everything possible. And at one moment, I had a job on killing this Noxian guy in a battlefield. The only way to kill that sum a bitch was through a few kilometers of mud. The gun had mud on every part, from stock to barrel. I had a gunfight with his soldiers before I killed that guy and guess what?"

"It didn't jammed." Snow said while looking at the gun, impressed with the performance. "What's the secret, Outlaw?"

"Secret?" Graves hold the gun with one hand and leaned it on his shoulder. "Big components. As long the components moving, the thing will shoot."

"Ah, explains why the mud didn't effected the gun." Said Snow. "Can't help myself to see how she roars in the field."

"Tell you what Snow." Graves offered. "Tomorrow I'll be hunting in the forest, you can join me if you want to."

"Since I'm on vacation, a bit of hunting seem to be a good idea. Plus, I want to see who is a better hunter. Frostbite or Outlaw?" Amanda Snow accepted the offer.

 **Hey, author here.**

 **Hope you guys like the first chapter of this new story that I made. It's a story that I've been keeping for awhile and I just felt wanted to post it. Now it's not connected to my other stories, it's just a story that I made out of an idea of 'What if Graves had this sniper friend?'. I wrote for fun, out of boredom and never planned on posting it. Until now of course.**

 **So follow this story if you want to see what will happen to the story. Review it if you have some thoughts on it and have a nice day to all my fellow readers. We will meet again in the next chapter.**

 **C'ya Mates_**


	2. Chapter 1

Amanda wore her jacket that had long sleeves, zipped it fully and stretched her body. The jacket had a matching colour with her baggy pants, which was a mixture of grey, dark green and brown colour. To heighten the effectiveness of blending in the forest during the hunt, which had a lot of tall trees and bushes. She went to the mirror, tied her long white hair into a neat bun and blew a strand of hair that was at her eyes, pushing it to the middle of her forehead.

Snow took her pistol that was at her desk beside her bed and puts it on her holster. She holds her sniper rifle named Dusk and checked its inside, it was fully loaded and ready to go. She looked around her room, trying to think if there was anything else that she needs to bring. Then it was decided that she had all the things needed, she was going to hunt and unneeded burdens were unwelcome. She walked toward the door and exited her room, she then saw Graves at the dining area reading a book.

Hearing the door closing, Graves glanced at the woman and turned to the next page of his book. "Have some breakfast lady, don't want to have an empty stomach while hunting."

"How sweet." Lynn smiled and went to the table. "What did you order for me Graves?"

"Eggs and some red beans." Graves continues his reading session, it seems that he was halfway through the book.

"Just enough to make my stomach not empty." Snow leaned her sniper rifle at the round table besides Destiny and sat down opposite to Graves. "Yordle, I'd like to order please."

"Right away ma'am." Answered the yordle that was cooking on the fireplace.

"What are you reading Graves? Your eyes have been stuck to that book since last night."

"Illiad's Journal of The Sky Gods." Graves said, he closed the book and placed it down the table. "This guy Illiad really knows how to tell a story."

"Interesting." Said Snow, the yordle arrived at the table and waited for the order. "Give me a glass of milk and two loaves of bread, make sure you lightly burn it. Graves, you already eaten yet?"

"A glass of water is enough for me here." Graves pointed at the glass of water in front of him.

"Give some bacon and eggs for the bearded man here, make sure its juicy okay." She stated.

"Yes ma'am." The yordle nodded and left the table to serve the order.

"What the hell you're doing Snow?" Graves questioned Snow. "I said that the water in front of me is enough."

"Well Mr. Graves, we don't want an empty stomach when we go out hunting don't we?" Snow argued. "Plus, last night you paid the vodka and so today I want to settle the score."

"Well, if you insist." Graves shrugs, he then sees at the sniper rifle beside his shotgun. "Look at that beautiful gun, come here you sleek devil."

Graves extended his hand and and took the sniper rifle named Dusk. Feeling the sniper rifle in his hands, he examined the gun from stock to barrel while having multiple expression on his face. Lynn chuckled seeing The Outlaw in such way. But again, they were close friends and it was not rare for her to see him to do such thing.

Dusk was a bolt action sniper rifle that had a long barrel and a firm grip. It was silver in colour and by the quality of the steel on the barrel, made out of Demacian steel. It had no scope and the iron sights had small neon dots, useful for the user could see the iron sights during the night. Graves checked the insides, the gun had no magazine slot and so the bullets had to feeded to the rifle manually and individually. Reloading would be a slow process but the trade off would be less components, advantageous in the long run. Knowing who the owner of the rifle, Graves did not doubt the design of the gun.

"You don't ever use a scope, do you Snow?" Graves asked.

"Scope are for pussies Graves." Snow answered.

"So you have a dick then." Graves grinned.

"And you could go fuck yourself." Snow smiled.

The yordle arrived at the table with a handful plates and drinks. The yordle then puts a glass of milk a plate of toasted bread and another plate of bacon and egg. Graves put Dusk back to where it was put and holds the wooden fork and spoon. He stabs at one piece of bacon and ate it, a well cooked bacon and savoury. Snow also joined in and happily ate her breakfast, chewing a mouthful of it. Snow gave the amount of gold that the yordle demanded and like Graves, gave more.

"So Snow." Graves asked. "Have you been huntin' around these places before?"

"I know how to track through the forest, but as for hunting here, I never done it before." Says Snow. "Is there anything I should know before we go hunting?"

"The Tsarin Forest has a lot of things that most probably would kill you if you're not careful. I'm ain't interested on killing beast, the only thing I'm interested is to get some good venison in my stomach. I don't want you disturb any monster territory for the sake of hardcore hunting. That means sticking with at all times."

"No problem Graves, you're the guy that knows where the best place to hunt in the first place. But can't you at least have something to make this fun?" She suggested. "Have a little bit of competition won't hurt you know."

Graves chewed his food and leaned at his chair, thinking about the suggestion. She was right about having some competition, the only reason why Graves wants to hunt was because Snow challenge yesterday. Then, an idea arrived in his mind.

"The one who managed to find the deer first wins." Graves said.

"Just that to prove who is better at hunting? I think you can do better than that Graves."

"Not some average deer that you've been shooting Snow. The deer that I'm talking about is the Blue Vein Deer, a one of a kind deer that chances are you haven't seen it before."

"Now that's more like it. Tell me more." Snow was interested with Graves proposal.

"The Blue Vein Deer is like your average deer with some differences that makes it stand out. Examples are stubby horns on its head, thin legs and puffy tail. But the one thing that you can't miss is the blue line fur that the deer have. The deer is kind of rare and hard to find in the forest so if you want a challenge, there you have it."

"Guess we're going to have a whole day worth of searching and hunting today."

Graves and Snow continues eating their food, filling their stomach for the hunt ahead that might take a whole day.

...

The forest had a peaceful atmosphere, the calm winds hits the leaves of the tall trees making calm ambiance. The sun rays hits the forest, feeling as if the gods was giving a blessing. The chirps of birds that was nowhere to be seen also made it enjoyable for those who track the forest. Graves and Snow trek the forest side by side while looking at the forest surroundings that was full of greens.

Graves took a cigar from his pocket and lit its tip, smoking it after the tobacco had been burn properly. He looks at Snow and she was wearing her hood on that was dangling behind her jacket. Looking at the attire that she is wearing, Graves bet that she would disappear in the terrain if she is to stand still and stay put in one place. The colour of her attire matches the green surroundings.

Graves have known Snow for a long time, she was a sniper to begin with and to expect less from her attire blending in the surrounding was clearly an underestimation. Graves continued to look at her and ponder about the woman beside him. A woman named Snow, Shuriman and Freljord descent, was a well known sniper in the black market and his best friend.

Snow, on the other hand, cannot help but realise that the man beside him was staring at her. Specifically at her face. She tried to ignore it by looking at her surrounding and cherishing nature, but the man eyes was something hard dismiss. She bit her lower lip, trying her best to be natural. Rarely does a man eyed her in such a way, especially with those striking cooper eyes of The Outlaw, it was making her rather _uncomfortable_.

"Is there a problem Outlaw?" Amanda breaks the silence between the two. "Cause you've been staring at me for quite awhile, just so you know."

"Nothing." Graves broke the glance and looked at his surrounding. "I was just thinking about how unique you are as a person."

"Thanks I guess. You too Graves, you too." Snow looked at Graves. "Hey since we are doing nothing but walking, why don't you tell a bit about the book you've been reading. You know, just to kill the boringness."

"Are you sure Amanda? You never been a story person."

"Correction Malcolm, I read a few novels in my lifetime okay."

"That's really something to be proud of Snow." Graves said sarcastically.

"Look you want to tell the story or not?"

"Alright I will, just calm down will ya." Graves took a deep breath. "The story when the world was nothing and came -"

Graves suddenly became silent, he looks at Snow and she was also looking at him. They stop for moment and continue to stare at each other, with no words coming out from their mouths. To a point where the only thing that could be heard was the wind breezing through the leaves.

"You hear that Snow?" Graves asks.

"Yeah." Snow nods and looks to her right. "Something is moving around here."


	3. Chapter 2

Amanda and Malcolm looked at a bush that was not far and there was something inside it. They looked at each other and raised their weapons, slowly advancing at the bush. One step at a time, trying to make as less sound they could manage. Graves pushed Snow gently, wanting her to surround the bush. The Tsarin Forest had many things and he was not going to take any chances. Once they were close enough, the two mercenaries stopped and aimed at the bush.

Graves whistled, hoping to attract the animal inside the bush. But no answer. Graves aimed his shotgun up and shot the sky, creating a loud sound that echoed far. The things inside the bush revealed itself and to his surprise, it was the old troll Jack. He got out from the bush with a jar of insects, having a grumpy face seeing the two. Snow and Graves had their weapon and shoulders lowered because of it, a rabbit would be nice to shoot at.

"Why the hell are you here old man?" Graves asked.

"I'm getting myself some snacks, while you came up here and scared them off!" Jack walked away from them on the way to his inn. "Are you humans always god damn like this?"

"Sorry Jack." Snow apologized. "We're hunting right now and didn't know that you were in the bush."

"Don't get all sweet on me woman, what you did has be done and there is nothing can change that." Jack gripped his jar firmly that was full of exotic insects. "Leave the old troll with his things can you?"

The old troll walked away and the two looked as he vanished into the dense forest. Graves shook his head seeing the old troll, one of the reason he liked the troll was his personality. Snow looked at Graves feeling rather bad to Jack. But Graves motioned her to not bother it.

"He's always like that Snow, don't bother the old man." Graves continued walking. "The only thing that made him happy is gold, other than that, the troll gonna hate everything."

"It's not the first time I met him Graves." Snow followed Graves from behind. "You gotta cut some slack for him you know."

"Pfft, what the hell are you saying Snow." Graves smoked his cigar. "You don't have to care about the old guy, the only he cares about you is when you aren't paying the bills."

"Okay enough with Jack, more on the hunt. We've been walking around the forest with nothing to shoot, I think we should split up." Snow sprinted so she would be in front of Graves. "We meet at some point and see who get's the deer first. What do you think?"

"And if you get lost, I'd be the one that need to find you Snow."

"Hold up Graves." Snow put her hand on Graves chest, stopping him immediately. "This not my first time in the forest Graves, I know my way around these places."

"But you said that you never hunt at this place, how about that?"

"I know how to take care myself Graves. And remind me why did we make this hunt in the first place?"

"To see who's the better hunter."

"Exactly, and that's why I think we should split up."

Graves let the suggestion sink in his brain and pondered about her idea. Snow was looking at him seriously and waited for a response. Eventually the Outlaw shrugged and walked to another direction.

"Guess you're right Amanda. But remember what I said," Graves glanced at her. "don't bother the big guys. They won't beat you up as long as you let them live with their lives."

"Don't you worry about it, I'll keep my head up. If anything happens, shout." Snow went to other direction and disappeared into the forest. "Happy hunting!"

...

Hunting was man main activity during the infancy of mankind as a species. To hunt was to have a desire to track and to kill the prey, it applies to any species that act as a predator. Not only one need to have sharp senses, one must have experience and knowledge about the prey. The Blue Vein Deer was no different to any animal that Graves have hunted before.

He had trekked far away where he separated from Snow and currently his gut was saying to him that the deer was near. He kneeled down and observed the track left by an animal, it fulfilled the criteria of a deer. What type of deer was still in question, Graves have to look more clues to confirm the type. He moved forward and pushed through the bushes and twigs while not making any loud noises.

He followed the tracks and it lead him to a pile feces, it was moist and dark. Beside the feces were berries of shiny red. Graves squinted his eyes and found some odd things about the bush, something was eating it not long ago. Some berries were no longer there and some leaves were eaten abruptly. It cemented the chances of the Blue Vein Deer being near.

Graves continued to track the deer with the his senses and knowledge, he can't wait to have the taste of juicy venison at his taste buds. A few more meters he tracked and he heard something on the edge of his ears. A deer neighing.

The Outlaw quickly crouched and went to the source, his pace was fast but his steps was silent. He was like a wolf, hunting it's prey for survival and also for pleasure. The sound of the of the deer was getting louder, his reward was within his grasp. Graves stopped beside a tree and kneeled to one knee, there it was his prey, The Blue Vein Deer.

Graves cherished the sight of his prey, such a majestic animal created by nature in his sight. The deer fitted what he had described to Snow. Thin legs, plump tail and stubby horns. But what made the man awe was the blue line on its fur that stretched from its ears to its tail. For a moment, Graves thought he won't find the deer. But the deer was there, drinking at the pond beside a huge fallen tree.

Being the predator that he was, Graves realised the reality of the world that he has competition. And his competition was a particular woman, she was nowhere to be seen but he could sense her.

"Come out Amanda, you're camouflage hides you but you're still there woman." Graves called.

"What a coincidence Malcolm, both of us found the deer at the same time." Snow revealed herself from a bush not far and kneeled beside Graves. "Guess that concludes who's the better hunter."

"I knew you were following me Frostbite."

"No Outlaw, you _just_ knew I was following you. That's two different things."

"Whatever Snow, are you satisfied with the competition now?" Graves looked at Snow.

"Oh, you mean the fact that we found the deer at the same time? Kinda, guess we're on the same level Outlaw." Snow looked at the deer, amazed by the beautiful fur. "That is one beautiful deer."

"You believe what you want to believe Snow." Graves split his shotgun and changed the bullets. " All I care is the meat."

"And the meat you shall have dear friend." Snow checked her rifle. "Right now, we need to decide who shoot the deer. Any idea how to solve this problem?"

"Look do you want to shoot it or not? It's already noon and I want my dinner to be that deer over there." Graves was getting impatient.

"Aww, you're such a gentleman Graves." Snow teased him, she liked to see him getting on the edge. "I knew you would say that."


	4. Chapter 3

Snow took the chance that Graves had given and raised her rifle. The sniper rifle, Dusk, was a fine bolt action rifle. No scope, just mere sights being lighted with a bioluminescence dot so it could be seen in the dark. Amanda rested her cheek on the stock and focused through the sights. The deer stopped drinking in the pond and raised its head to look around. As if it knew that someone was aiming at it.

In the eyes of The Outlaw, Snow was merely adjusting her aim. But for Frostbite, it was an entirely different story. Using her five senses and her wit, she calculated every factor that would deviate the bullet travel. With one eye closed, she started the part that define her work. The distance of her and the target, the wind that was briskly moving through, and the moisture of the air. She took it all in and moved her rifle slightly to her calculation.

Graves silently observed, his constant tapping on his shotgun showed his growing impatience. Yet he let the woman be with her craft, respecting the time and effort needed to have one precise shot. Seeing her making minute changes on her aiming, it gave him the reason why he preferred the shotgun and up close personal engagements. He preferred quick reaction battles rather than calculative precision shootings.

The deer fluffy ears moved, hearing the ambience of the forest. It looked to the direction of Graves and Snow, yet did not see the two hunters since it was far. The innocent eyes looked straight at Snow, the only thing that she could do for the deer was to make it quick and painless. With one final adjustment to her aim, she put her finger on the trigger and take a deep breath. She released the air in her lungs and slowly squeezed the trigger.

 _Sorry Bambi, looks like you won't have a good ending..._ She said in her heart.

The shot echoed, the bullet traveled and the deer trembled down to ground lifeless. Snow lowered her rifle and breathed in, her mouth slowly curled into a smile. She saw it and Graves also saw it, the bullet hit precisely at the center. She let the bullet casing out from the barrel and put another one inside,making sure it was full again. She looked at Graves and the only thing that he could see the man was the smirk on his face.

"Not bad Frostbite..." Graves threw the shortened cigar away and got up. "Still sharp as a knife."

"Thanks for the compliment Outlaw, guess you're one happy man right now." Snow stood up beside him. "Having good venison for dinner today."

"Damn right I am Snow." Graves moved towards the deer and Snow walked beside him. "Took ya long enough to shoot the animal."

"Well Graves, why don't you tell me how you would approach the situation. Maybe I could do it when I'm doing a few jobs in the future."

"With Destiny here, I can't shoot this far even though I changed to my more special bullets. I would've sneak closer and shot the deer's head when I'm close enough."

"The next time we hunt, I want you to do the shooting. Maybe learning a few tricks from The Outlaw you know."

On the outside, The Outlaw was calm and focus with the meat. But inside, he was making analysis with the proof that happened in his eyes. What Graves had seen, was a flawless shot executed by one of the highest paid mercenary in the market. She used a sniper rifle that had no scope and managed to make an accurate shot in a distance that was arguably far. All of that, in a matter of seconds of preparation and adjustments. Graves had known her long enough to be good friends but her execution on her shots kept surprising him time to time.

Graves shrugged it off and concluded that the woman beside him was undeniably talented. But to think more than needed was unnecessary and the meat was right there for the taking. Graves shifted his focus, he now was thinking about how would the meat be cut. Should he cut smaller piece for convenience when carrying it or should he cut it to big chunks for satisfaction when he eats the meat. Decisions, decisions. Even Graves puzzled to such simple actions.

...

Amanda washed the pelt at the pond, it was covered with blood and the river was effectively wearing it off. She brushed off anything that made the pelt less attractive, insects, piss and even some fleas. The insects and fleas were quickly eaten by the fish at the pond that suddenly emerged.

She took the pelt off the pond and let the water dripped off the pelt, she observed the pelt and the blue line was such a beautiful thing. She traced her fingers on the pelt and she could feel the soft fur that was slowly drying off. Once dry enough, Snow put it on her mid arm and went to Graves. Her friend, on the other hand, was busy cutting the meat and still having conflicts between himself .

Beside the giant fallen tree was The Outlaw cutting the meat with a knife, Snow could see from afar that his hands and clothes were stained with blood. Graves had spread a cloth on the ground and had laid down the deer on top of it, separating the deer and the meat that had already been cut.

Seeing the woman approached, he wiped the sweat on his forehead and looked at her. "Finished cleaning Snow?"

"Yeah." Snow showed the pelt to Graves which she was surprisingly have a liking to it. "Already clean and dry."

"Good." He nodded seeing the fur in clean condition, Graves continued on cutting the meat. "Put it at the tree for awhile, I need to cut this meat up to small sections."

"Yeah, no problem." Snow put the pelt on the fallen tree and let it dry off the remaining water in the fur.

She kneeled opposite to Graves and observed the man at his work. Looking at the meat laid down across the cloth, she saw that Graves had separated the meat into segments. The main body was at the center of the cloth, currently had been fully skinned had little meat on it. Some of the meat was still sticking at the bones but it seems the man was not bothering it so much.

Then at the right of the deer was the organs, being so mushy and the source of the bloody mess that she was seeing. Graves did not merely threw it, he gave each and every organ that was cut space so he could differentiate which one was which. And at the left side was all the meat that Graves had been desiring since yesterday. Like the organs, it was organized neatly with to divide the small one and the big ones.

Snow finally sat down and observed the man, he was a skillful butcher from what she was seeing. She put off her hood and then went on holding the decapitated head of the deer that had a hole at the center. She was thankful that the shot hit the center and killed it instantly, the deer was cute.

"Hey Graves," Snow asked. "is there some kind of story about this particular deer?"

"Maybe?" Graves cutted another piece of meat inside the ribcage of the deer. "Why you ask?"

"No reason." Snow shrugged. "The deer is kinda cute in my opinion."

"Hmm..." Graves rubbed the stained knife with the cloth underneath. "Well the only myth I know is that the deer has some connection with the afterlife."

"Seriously?" Snow looked at Graves with a shocked face.

"You know those mountain people?" Graves looked at Snow.

"You mean the Targonians? Yeah I know about them."

"Based on the stories I've been hearing, these deers would welcome you to the afterlife." Graves told her. "The only difference between the deer here and the afterlife one is the line of the fur. Sometimes it would be black, some would be white and it would go on depending on what you did when you were alive."

"Wait, is this about Ina and Ani? Shouldn't Kindred be claiming our souls when we die?"

"I don't know Snow, I never died in my life." Graves joked. "Well, not yet at least."

"Sorry for disturbing," Snow put down the head of the deer down. "continue with the story."

"They said the deer would lead to you everything that you did in your life, from the day you were born till the time you die. After that, the deer will lead you to the eternal destination that you are destined to go."

"That is?"

"The typical hell and heaven thing. You know where it goes from there." Graves stood up and sheathed his knife. "Alright Snow, I'm done with the meat. Can you help me a little?"

"Sure." Snow stood up in front of him. "What can I help?"

"You see that bag over there?" Graves pointed an empty bag that leaned at the fallen tree. "I want you to take the bag and put the meat inside of it. And **only** the meat, you got that?"

"So we're going to leave the organs behind?"

"To hunt in this forest, you must do a bit of work if you know what I mean."

"No, I don't know what you mean."

"We're going to give the leftover to the spirits of the forest, satisfied? You can't see them but they're breathing beside our necks right now." Graves went to the pond to clean his stained hands and clothes. "I want to clean the blood off my hands for awhile, so in the meantime, help me."

"Alright." Snow shrugged it off and took the bag. "Never thought you're that spiritual Graves."

Snow crouched down and started to put the meat at the bag. She can't help to imagine the things that Yordles could cook with the meat that she was holding right now. She hummed a song while she was doing it.

...

Graves cleaned the blood off from his hands and clothes. The blood easily wore off then he washed his face, effectively feeling refreshed with the water. Then he could hear a faint sound from afar. He looked around and there was no beast or monster that he could see.

Then his gut suddenly felt different, something was on to him. He stood up from crouching and searched his surrounding with heighten sense. Still, there was nothing that he could see or point. Graves looked down and saw his reflection in clear image. Then a large beast shaded him from the sun just for a moment, flying in terrific speed.

The Outlaw reacted accordingly and sprinted back to Frostbite. As he used every effort on his legs to arrive to his friend as quickly as possible, he shouted and warned.

"Frostbite! There's a Drake coming!!"


	5. Chapter 4

The drake roared, hurting the drums of his ears. He was sprinting back to Snow, wanting to regroup with her and flee from the monstrous beast. Graves looked up and saw the drake circling around at the sky. Graves knew that there were drakes around the forest but he had encountered none on the trips before.

When he had arrived back, Amanda had already wore the bag and had Destiny in her grasp. She threw the unique shotgun to him and he caught it. Snow then hold her sniper rifle ready, waiting on what should they do next.

"What's the plan Outlaw?" She asked.

"Don't get killed by the drake." He checked his shotgun and it was already primed. "We have to get into the fore-"

The drake swooped in and landed between Graves and Snow. The scales of the drake was bloody red, the claws were as sharp as swords and the eyes was a message of death. The beast eyed the two humans and roared, showing its sharp teeth and spewing a foul breath. Graves and Snow stunned for awhile seeing the size of the beast, then they split up and fleed away from the beast.

"Change of plan, you take high and I take low!" Graves retreated away from the beast.

"Got it!" Snow sprinted to the forest.

The drake looked as the two humans fleed away from it, after a moment to make a decision, it leap towards Graves. The Outlaw, using inhuman reflexes, dodged the attack and dash to the side. A move that he was known infamously as Quickdraw. He then shot the drake scales, it was ineffective as the scale was literally unharmed. He grunted in frustration and continue to ran away from the drake.

While the man was evading attacks, Frostbite did not waste time and haste to take position. The strategy was to shot down the drake or at least wore it down till it's weak. Graves must maintain fighting the drake in the open space and Snow will provide additional fire. The sniper went to the forest but still in the perimeter of the open space, she put down the bag and looked up the tree. It was tall and by the thickness of it, won't fall down by any average attack.

Snow took out her knife and stabbed the tree, she then started climbing. The climb needed more effort than expected and it was time consuming, yet she continue to climb as fast as she could. She arrived to the top earlier than anticipated and took position, holding her scope firm and aimed through the rifle sights.

Frostbite pulled the trigger and released the bullet from the barrel. She repeated the same process eight times and never seemed to miss her shots. All of the shots hit the target but she could only cursed in her heart seeing it was ineffective. When she pulled the trigger again, the sniper rifle only clicked. Snow checked and it was empty, she needed to reload.

Snow reloaded and filled the gun one bullet at a time. While reloading, she looked at Graves and saw something that she expected from the man of his calibre. The Outlaw in action was a sight to be seen and she was lucky to see him do it from high ground. The man might be struggling to take the drake down but the beast was also struggling to take him down too.

Graves would pace slowly if he wanted to attack but only when the chances were given. He would shoot two shots at each opening then he would increase his pace. What amazed Snow about the man was his constant dashes that confused the beast, despite having a heavy shotgun. At the same time while dashing he would reload his shotgun full and then wait for the next opening.

Her admiration lasted as much time consumed when reloading her rifle that was only seconds. Snow then looked through her rifle sights and continue to shoot. This time, she targeted the eyes of the drake. It will crippled the drake, one eye would suffice.

"Outlaw!" Snow shouted. "Slow down the drake!"

"I'm busy not to get killed right now!" Graves replied.

"Just do it!"

Graves shook his head in disbelief and thought on how would he do it. The drake pounced again with its mouth leading, he dashed to the side just in the nick of time. If he would stay still to slow down the drake, he would've been dinner. He must move if not he would be killed, how can he slow down the beast?

The Outlaw was getting tired of it and was out of breath from constantly dashing and sprinting. He needed time to at least take a breath and recuperate, then an idea struck in his head. He inserted a smoke cannister in his shotgun and stopped running. Heavily panting, he glared at the drake eye to eye.

 _Come and get me lizard..._

The drake lowered down and then leap with all effort putting into it. Its mouth agape, ready to eat Graves in one effort. Graves raised his shotgun and wanted to shoot the drake but in the seconds happening, he lowered it and shoot at the ground. The smoke cannister hit the ground and instantly exploded. Creating a thick smoke that hid Graves inside of it.

The drake, shocked seeing the sudden smoke, halted and observed the cloud of smoke. Growling in frustration as it circled around the smoked area. Suddenly, the left eye of the drake was shot. Blood leaked out of the eye and the drake screamed in pain and rage, with one last roar it flied out to the sky.

The gust created by the drake wings blew the smoke away and Graves was now visible. He looked at the sky, seeing the drake roared and flown elsewhere. He wasn't expected to end in such fashion but still grateful to not endure needless troubles. The man knew it wasn't him that caused it, his sniper did it. He searched the trees and saw Snow looking up in awe. She looked at Graves and laughed in disbelief, the two had scared off the drake away.

Graves exhausted, trembled to the ground and sat at his bottom. Never he had dashed as much as he fought the drake. He raised his hand and motioned Snow to come down, which she agreed with a nod. Frostbite started to climb down the tree while The Outlaw waited and take deep breaths. Though exhaustive, it was a good way to stretch his muscles.

Malcolm felt he needed to be rewarded, so he took out a match and search his cigars on one of his pockets. When he founded the desired cigar, he hold it with his mouth and lit one match. He neared the lighted match to the tip of the cigar, when suddenly he heard another roar. Graves looked up to see the sky but it was not long till the drake landed right in front of him.

Snow was halfway down but cancelled her descend when she saw the drake again. She quickly climb to the top of the tree. Graves sat stationary, dumbfounded with the situation . The very tip of the drake's mouth was right in from of him. He could hear the growled of the beast despite the mouth was still shut closed. The very breath of the drake hits his face and by the tempo of it, was angered to hell.

 _Damn it..._

Graves took his shotgun and rolled to the side. He got up to his two feet and started to shoot the beast, expecting another exhaustive fight. He shot and pumped the shotgun, repeating the process another four times. It managed to weaken one of the scales but the shooting stopped as the drake headbutted Graves at his torso. The man flied across the field and hit the fallen tree, damaging his back and laid at the ground unconscious.

Snow saw it happened and shocked seeing Graves unconscious, she continued shooting the drake while finding a weak spot. The drake ignored the shots and approached its prize slowly, cherishing it like a cat seeing a dead mouse. Frostbite continued her shooting, she did not want to attend a friend funeral during her vacation.

Shot after shot, she continued her chain of precise aim and marksmanship. Then when she pulled the trigger, her rifle only clicked. She checked the inside and noticed that there were still bullets in the chamber. She aimed and pulled the trigger, hoping that it was not jammed. The rifle proved her wrong.

"Not right now!" She smacked her rifle in frustration.

Snow looked back at the battlefield and saw the drake already near to Graves, the man still not conscious. In desperation, she knew she has to distract the drake away from Graves. Giving him enough time to get back up and continue to fight. She took her knife and attached it to the tip of the rifle, making it a spear.

She jumped one tree to another, getting close to the drake and searching for a sweet spot to launch. Snow found the perfect tree, where she was close to the drake and stable enough to make the jump. She hold her rifle firmly and readied herself for the jump.

Graves felt the pain on his whole body, specifically on his back. He was tired and his legs was basically shivering fatigue. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the world again in a blurry view. He could sense something in front of him but what was it was not clear. His brain adjusted and his sight became clear, the drake was about to eat him for dinner.

Time slowed down for Graves, one second passing like a minute. The drake then leap towards him, mouth gaped for him to enter the belly. He shielded his face with his hand, he knew it was useless but he felt he needed to do something. Then he took a deep breath, ready for the pain ahead and maybe death's embrace.

Until...

Snow, out of nowhere, stabbed the beast neck. The drake did not expected and screamed in pain, moving its head left and right. The Outlaw was also surprised with the sudden attack, the blade had penetrated the mighty scales. Snow twisted and turned the rifle made spear, making the drake moved away from the downed man.

When the distance between Graves and the drake was far enough, she left her sniper rifle and jump off the drake. She equipped her pistol and faced the drake, she taunted at it and gave a few shots at the beast face. As the drake roared to scare the sniper, Snow glanced at Graves for just a moment.

"Get up Outlaw!" She shouted.

Gaining full control of his body, Graves then moved to his shotgun that was not far and got up. He reloaded his shotgun full and entered the fight again. The Outlaw joined Destiny together and aimed at the beast head. He shot and pumped, ignoring the recoil of his shotgun completely.

The Outlaw and Frostbite worked together, committed to put down the drake once and for all. As the two shoot the drake, they circled around the beast, confusing it to decide on who it should attacked first. The sound of gunshots were endless, bullet casings dropped to the ground like it was raining, the reloading of their weapons took as little time as possible.

The drake felt it was time to end such nonsense, it roared one more time and decided to take down the female human. It eyed her threateningly and proceed to kill. Snow backed off when the drake approached to her with its claws but it took her off guard as the drake spinned its whole body. The very tail hit the sniper, sending her high above and throwing her to the pond.

Graves was reloading at the time and was shocked seeing his friend thrown to the pond. The Outlaw and the drake eyes met, both were threatening but it seemed that Graves had the most fury in it. He finished reloading and decided to attack head on. No more tactics, no more fast dashes, just pure firepower.

Graves cracked his neck and took the first step of approaching to the drake. The drake growled and the sprinted to The Outlaw head on. Graves started to shoot the drake, with one shot followed another, his intention to kill was clearer than ever. The drake endured the shots and it was getting closer for the kill. Graves did not took a step or even hesitated, he pushed on.

Feeling victory was decided, the drake openned its mouth and waited the prey to get inside. Graves lowered his gun and jumped inside the mouth. With the prey entered, the drake closed its mouth shut and proceed to devour. But something was not right.

Inside, The Outlaw refused to be devoured by holding on to one of the drake teeths. Thinking the outside hard and strong, he figured that the inside was as weak as any being. With just one click and the expense of the remaining shotgun shells, Graves set Destiny to do one of his infamous tricks. Collateral Damage.

Graves pulled the trigger and shot the inside of the drake. The sheer force was so immense, that the recoil pushed him back despite his heavy stature. He got out from the mouth of the beast and rolled to the ground weak. Attaining a few cuts because of the blast he had caused. He kneeled and giggled seeing the drake screamed in pain. Eventually, the drake laid down to the ground dead.

The adrenaline wore off from his system and more pain started to register. Malcolm breathed heavily to endure the fatigue. Finally, it was over. But then he realized his missing comrade. He looked everywhere to find her.

"Snow?" Graves called and looked at the pond.

Graves quickly rise and rush to the pond. He took a deep breath and jumped in, diving deep below. He searched but Snow was nowhere to be found. He swam to the surface to take a breath then quickly dive deeper. He searched again and then saw her long white hair. He saw her lay on some rocks with small bubbles of air escaping her mouth and nose.

Graves went to Snow and held her by the waist and then carry her up to the surface. He gasped air as soon as he reached to the top then proceeded bringing her to land. He dragged her to land and laid her down. He moved his ear close to her face, she was not breathing.

Putting his two hands on Snow's chest, he pressured it in an attempt to push out the water inside her lungs. He checked again, no breath could be felt. He pushed her chest again with more force. Graves moved away a few strands of Snow's hair from her face and put his lips to hers, blowing air into her lungs.

Snow's eyes shot open and she pushed Graves away. She coughed water out and gasped air with one long inhale. Seeing his friend was still alive, Graves released a relieving sigh and laid down to the ground. Wet and tired, both mercenaries panting side by side. Both tired to a point they could not muster enough strength to stand.

Snow looked at Graves and said between breaths. "The... drake... dead?"

"Dead... as a ... lizard..." Graves said but barely managed.

"And... the meat..?"

"Fuck... the meat.."

Snow looked up to the sky and then closed her eyes. Her lungs still desperate for air but she could not help but laughed. Graves looked at Snow with frowned brows, puzzled with what was funny. He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes, eventually joining her laughing. All of this happened because of venison.


	6. Chapter 5

The charred wood cracked as the fire consumed its energy for warmth and heat. The venison that the two mercenaries had struggle was cooked well under the skilled Malcolm Graves. He flipped the meat to another side and the sizzled sound made his heart happier. He took a metal rod and poked the wood so the fire would be more powerful.

After fighting the drake, Amanda and Malcolm had returned back to the inn tired and wet. With their wet uniform added the burden, their body could not help but tremble at the first sight of bed in their rooms. While Snow took a brief nap to rest her body, Graves quickly had a shower and clean himself from all the mud and dirtiness that covered him. He gave the yordles his dirtied clothes and wore a spare trouser and a dark colored T-shirt, that fit to his body and showing off his muscled features.

He looked around the place to find Snow and she was nowhere to be found. The woman had been silent on their way back to the inn. And for a woman that was energetic like Snow to be quiet, it was worrying The Outlaw.

Then he saw Snow exited from her room, wearing her usually singlet and baggy pants with a towel at his head. By the looks of it, she was currently drying her white hair but her mood was still a mystery seeing her face hidden beneath the towel. Amanda proceeded to a table and sat down at one of the chairs. She put her arms at the table and rested her face on it, hiding behind the towel completely.

Graves shook his head and sighed, a blind could see something was wrong for Snow. Being the only person in the inn that was her friend, it seem that he needed to do something about it. Graves stabbed the meat with a fork and lifted it up. Observing both side, he judged that the meat was well cooked and ready to be eaten.

The blue yordle arrived to his side with a big plate and willing to give an extra hand for The Outlaw. Graves put the meat on the big plate and hold the pan to pour the juices on top of the meat. The smell of the herbs and venison could make anyone desperate to eat it, even for the well mannered blue yordle that tried her best to hide it.

"What's your name yordle?" Graves asked.

"Lydia, sir." The blue yordle answered.

"Well Lydia, could ya spare some extra hands?" Graves put the pan back to where it was. "This meat is more than enough to feed two mouths and by the looks of it, you want it too."

"Certainly, but what can I help sir?"

"Take the meat and cut it to half. One half for me and the other for the rest of the inn, that includes the old troll and your yordle chef friend at the back. While you're at it, bring two baked potatos and a jug of water when serve the meat to out table. Can you do that for me?"

"Certainly!" Lydia said happily, almost jumping at the same time.

"Thanks." Graves departed away from the yordle and let her do her job.

Graves walked to the table where Snow was sitting and stood beside her with arms crossed. Feeling the unmistaken presence of The Outlaw, she peeked at him for just a moment and then hid under the towel. It was cute for her to do such thing but to Graves she was just a close friend. He put one hand on top of her head and started to shake it playfully. Snow reacted with a groan of annoyance but let the man continued shaking her head regardless.

"You just can't leave me alone, huh?" Snow sighed.

"No, I'm just curious." Graves stated, continuing to shake her head. "Are you crying under the towel or just wanted to show the whole inn that you have a towel?"

"I have long hair, its just doesn't want to dry." She sat properly and smiled. "I'm a woman just so you know."

"Well what a revelation ain't it." Graves stopped and sat at the chair beside her, relieved that she was still the Snow that he had known. "Is there anything that bothers you right now?"

"You mean specifically right now?" Snow continued to dry her hair with the towel. "Yeah, there is. His name is Malcolm Graves."

"I'm sorry Ms. Snow." Graves raised his hands. "I can't do anything about _that_ problem."

"Haha, funny." She added with sarcasm.

Graves smirked, Snow was fine and it seemed that he had nothing to worry about the woman's mood. He took one cigar from one of his pocket and burned the tip with a matchstick. He breathed in the cigar and experienced the flavor entering his lungs, releasing a cloud of smoke afterwards.

"Hey Snow. Thanks for saving my life back there. If it weren't for you, I would've been dinner for the drake right now." He mentioned.

"Your welcome Graves." Snow finished drying her hair and hanged the towel on her neck. "Consider it even. You also saved me back there, I almost drowned at that time. By the way, where's the meat that we dying to eat?"

"It's on its way, I told Lydia to share some of the meat among the folks in the inn." He smoked the cigar again and puffed smoke. "I told her to bring some baked potatoes while their at it, so gave 'em some time Frostbite."

"And who the hell is Lydia?" Snow looked at Graves quizzically.

"The blue yordle that have been serving us recently."

"Oh, that cute little ball of fur is Lydia? Never knew about it."

The two of them then did not talk as they waited their hard earned dinner to arrive. They idly sat at the chair and waited, making soft movements to kill the boredom while at the same time doing nothing. But while waiting the food, Graves realized his friend was acting a little bit different. It was not obvious as it was mostly was about the little details. If they hadn't been close friends, Graves would not even bothered.

Snow constant sighs and ponder on the empty table was somewhat a big give away but one could argue it was normal. But the proof of her uneasiness lies in her icy eyes, Graves could see them. Snow may be focused, she was a sniper to begin with, but at the same time her mind was adrift. A friend in trouble was not something that The Outlaw take lightly, he would help if he could. He put his cigar on the ashtray and moved closer to Frostbite. To which the woman reacted in shock, the man looked at her in the eye.

"I'm serious Snow, what the hell is bothering you?" Graves inquired.

Snow attempted to not make eye contact but every attempt failed, his glare could not be ignored. She sighed and finally confronted the man. "I lost my rifle. There, satisfied?"

"Sorry to hear that. When did you lost him?"

"The rifle was stuck to the drake, after we done fighting, I realized that the gun was snapped to half. Just like a twig." She sighed.

"You can borrow some money from me, you just need to say the word Snow." Graves was willing to give more since she was a friend.

"That's not the point Graves. Could you imagine Destiny was destroyed to pieces? After all the years you've been using her then suddenly you can't use her again. Don't you feel sad?"

"I know, that's why I'm willing to lend you some money. I know that Dusk have been with you for quite a long time but you need to protect yourself."

"I got a pistol in my room, you don't have to worry about my safety." Snow sighed again and looked at the other way. "Forget about it, is just another gun Graves."

"Hey, listen to me Frostbite." He pushed her shoulder, she looked at him. "I got a guy in Zaun, name's Logan, he's one of the best gunsmith I've met. He can make any gun that you could imagine but make sure you have the sketch."

"Like I could draw Graves. I'm a sniper not an artist."

Graves smirked and pointed at his shotgun with his thumb. "And you think Destiny is designed by who?"

Snow looked at Destiny with widen eyes then panned at Graves. "You serious? You're going to design my new rifle?"

"Heh, what are friends for Snow?"

"You should think this long Graves. I'm a woman with standards and when I want my rifle, I'm specific."

"From stock to tip, you're going to design it with me."

Snow chuckled in excitement and then punched at Graves' shoulder. "You just made my day, Outlaw. You just made my fucking day! So when will make the design?"

"After we eat of course, which is right about now..."

Lydia, the blue yordle, arrived to the table with her hands occupied holding a serving tray. On top of the tray was all the food that the two mercenaries had come to expect. One big plate that had the cooked venison, two plates of baked potatoes, a big bowl of gravy and a jug of water with an addition of two glasses. She put each things on the table in a mannered way and lastly put the two sets of eating utensils.

Graves and Snow sat properly and could not wait to eat the food that they worked so hard. Both of them grabbed the fork and knife to eat. Lydia bowed at them and before she left the table, she smiled and said.

"May I compliment? You two look so cute together. Are you two by any chance married?"

Malcolm and Amanda slowly shifted their focus towards the yordle. No words came out from the two and the silence made the yordle felt that she was rude to say such thing. The two slowly turned to each other. Suddenly the two laughed loudly, breaking the eerie silence. Snow started tapped the table while Graves wiped the tears on the edge of his eyes.

"Ya hear that Snow?" Graves could not stop, speaking between laughs. "She said we're a couple."

"Yeah, another one said it." Snow said while trying her best to control herself. "Tip her, can you?"

"Sure." Graves took out a few gold coins, fortunately the humour started to fade for him to count it properly. "Here yordle, take it. Enjoy the food while you're at it."

"Come one Graves, let's eat the meat." The laugh finally faded and Snow started to cut the meat to be put on her plate.


	7. Chapter 6

Amanda Snow waited at the front door of Graves' room, she had already knocked and he should open the door any moment. The sound of the hinges creeks and Graves opened the door. Snow smiled at her friend and proceeded entering his room. In her mind, she already had some plans on how her rifle would look like, a design for the perfect sniper rifle. With Destiny as reference, Graves seemed to be a talented designer.

Once entered, she stopped and observed his room. Same like hers but a bit different here and there. The room was not big but also not small, enough space for someone to walk without bothering where he or she was stepping into something. Graves knew how to manage himself, seeing the place had no trash, even the blanket was well tucked under the bed.

On her left, was a wall that had some kind of animal pelt that had a beautiful pattern to it. On her right, was a single sized bed and a desk being positioned fittingly to the corner. There was a lamp on top of it and a big white paper with some pencil. The lamp dimly lighted the room making a soft atmosphere while the paper showed how ready was Graves to start designing. Opposite to the bed was a window, Graves had opened it wide so the wind cooled the room to a comfortable temperature. Even though the room was like hers, the room was totally different.

"Are you wearing the same clothes Snow?" Graves asked as he stood beside her.

"Different clothes, same colour." Snow clarify. "Don't worry, I got a lot of spare clothes."

"Even your pants?"

"Yes, even my pants. Do you want to know whether I'm wearing the same underwear too?"

Graves chuckled. "Ah Snow, still the same woman. You know that I'm a man, so do mind be a bit, what does those elite people always said? Courteous?"

"What? You have a hard on seeing me wearing like this?" Snow looked at him.

"Me? In your dreams Snow." Graves walked passed her and went to sit down on one of the two chairs on the desk. "Come on, let's design your rifle."

Snow looked at Graves and his black shirt really fitted to his body, featuring his V- shaped body even more. Then she lowered her gaze and looked at his butt, shamelessly so. She looked at the other way as soon as she got a glance of it, she hissed. It may be under his pants but Snow know what she was seeing. For some reason, the place was getting a bit hot.

"Why are you standing there for no reason." Graves said with an annoyed tone. "Do you want to make your gun or not?"

"Heck yeah." She forgets about anything before and focused about her gun, moving around the bed and sitting beside Graves.

With a pencil at his right hand, Graves moved the paper closer to him and readied himself to sketch. He looked at Snow and waited for her to inform, but she only returned his gaze and smiled. With no words coming out of her mouth, Graves sighed knowing the process would be longer than usual.

"Snow." Graves said.

"Yes?" Snow answered.

"I can't sketch your gun if you keep your mouth shut."

"Oh, sorry." She giggled. "I was just distracted by your butt, I'm sorry Malcolm."

"Is there a problem with my butt that concerned you so much lady?" He approached the problem with a straight face. "Look, I don't see this is a problem because I'm wearing pants."

"Look, no offense Graves, we've been friends for a long time and I have to say. You got a nice butt." Snow tried her best to keep a straight face but she then covered her mouth and giggled even more.

"Thanks I guess..." Graves was confused, not knowing how to react to such compliment. "All right, I think I should ask some questions then from your answers, I can start sketching. So, will your rifle be semi automatic or action bolt?"

 _Get it together Snow, you're embarassing yourself in front of him._ Frostbite took a deep breath and return back to the matters of her gun. "Action bolt."

"Action bolt it is." Graves put the pencil tip on top of the paper and started to sketch. "Parts?"

"Kasyuri. I heard they've been making some solid parts this year, might as well try it myself to see whether it's true or not."

"Never tried it myself but who knows, I might tinker Destiny to be a bit unique."

"Oh can you add some railings on the sights." She pointed at the paper.

"You want to add a scope on the rifle?" He asked.

"I just want the sniper rifle be flexible, it's new right? Might as well add some new things."

"I'm following you Snow."

"Thanks."

Graves continued to sketch, making long strokes and soft lines. Snow would sometimes point something, to correct any faults made though it was not many. Everything that she imagined in her head was on the paper, slowly being made line by line. Graves would sometimes recommend something, Snow would think about it for a moment and agreed most of the times. The flow of the work was like a river, smoothly without any halts or hiccups. In fact, Snow was confident that Graves can make a good rifle without her.

Focused on their work, little did they realized that hours had passed. It was until Graves body aches and demanded rest that he felt that it was already late. Though the sketch had many things to be done yet, one could see how the rifle would be in the real world. A sleek action bolt rifle with a fifteen bullets magazine that was upgradeable and customizable to the owner desires. Graves put the shortened pencil down and leaned at his chair, he was already at his limit.

"You alright Graves?" She asked.

"Yeah," Graves put his hand on his neck and yawned. "just that I'm pretty much tired after what happened today."

"If you want to sleep, we can continue this tomorrow morning." Snow added.

"Yeah, the sketch need a bit of polishing, we can do that tomorrow." He stood up with a groan. "Hurts like a bitch..."

Graves laid down on the bed beside the desk and instantly being drugged with comfort. He had been moving non-stop with no rest after taking down the drake. But now, with many things he had completed, he felt that the bed was more rewarding then ever. The aches suddenly lessen and fatigue was completely ignored, he was not sleepy but he could feel that it was getting close.

Snow, on the other hand, was not tired compared to Graves. Though they were together almost the whole day, Snow had already took a nap and a shower before dinner. Thus, having more energy than Graves. With the room being dimly lighted and the temperature being down to comfortable degrees, anyone would want to sleep. Even for her. She looked at the sketch and found some minor errors that she felt tolerable but would be significant if fixed.

"Hey Graves." She looked at Graves. "Can I make some notes on the design? There's some things on the design that I want you to fix."

"Sure Snow, do what you want." Graves added.

Graves put his two hands under his head and moved his body to be more comfortable. Once at the right position, he felt as if his body was laying on top of clouds though a bit too soft for his taste. Snow was writing a few notes on the design, making quick glances at Graves to see whether he was asleep or not. And by the looks, the man was stubborn to get to sleep despite his eyelids were winning.

"How long did we know each other Snow?" Graves suddenly inquired.

"What?" Surprised Snow as she looked at Graves.

"When was the first time we met? Before or after I got into The Locker?" Graves looked at the ceiling and pondered.

"Hmm, I think it was before you went into The Locker." She looked up and remembered. "Specifically, I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, the thought came out of nowhere. Been a long time that we know each other Amanda, how the hell did you became the highest paid mercenary at the same time? Been thinking about that for quite some time."

"So that was the thing that you've been thinking about me back then?"

"What else should I think about you then?"

"Nothing, just nothing." She continued making notes. _I thought he was judging my looks back then..._

"You must've think that I was looking at your looks again, ain't I'm right Snow?" He looked at her with a smirk on his face.

"How the hell did you know that?!?" Graves was actually scaring Snow, could he read her mind?

"You're a woman Snow, every woman thinks about their looks every now and then. Just common sense." He explained. "Whatever it is, don't change yourself because someone said something about you. You look fine the way you are."

Her heart was beating faster and her cheeks was blushing. She kept a calm composure and continued to make notes, evading eye contact with Graves. "Th..Thanks... I guess. You too Graves. You look fine just like that, too."

"You're welcome." He yawned again.

"Hey Graves."

"Hmm?"

"Where do you think you're going after this?"

"I don't know, maybe Demacia."

"No what I mean is after all of this. Being a mercenary is something different and fun if you think about it. But don't you ever thought what would happen when the tank goes empty?"

"Retiring. Is that what you mean?" Graves turned to look at her.

"Yeah." She turned to Graves and their gazes met. "Look, being the best hired sniper is great but time to time, it just... just... I don't know...just.."

"You felt that a lot of things happening and sometimes, having a vacation is never enough rest." Graves interrupted, Snow nodded. "Settling down, is that the proper word Amanda."

"Yeah Malcolm. Don't tell me you never thought of putting down Destiny for the last time once in awhile in your lifetime?"

Silence filled the room for a moment. Graves looked up and pondered about it for quite some time. Snow waited for him to answer. What made Graves unique than her other friends was she can have a conversation with a fellow mercenary about the sensitive things. Which a normal mercenary would evade and maybe have some small talk about their past mission.

Then a chuckled from Graves. "Damn Snow, you always have those questions in your head."

"You know me Graves." She shrugged.

"This between us and we won't talk about to anyone outside the room." He looked at Snow, eye to eye.

"As always." She promised.

Graves took a deep breath. "Honestly, the more older I get, the more I thought about it. And I agree with you, the tank **does** drain from time to time. Sure I may be an outlaw but sometimes I myself thought that having a peaceful life do look fine. If Destiny can talk, by now she wants me to put her down. To which I ain't arguing, the girl does have a hiccup or two.

"For now, I'm thinking of havin' enough money to buy me a good plot of land. In a forest maybe, with some trees and animals that could feed me while keeping company. Adopt a few kids and who knows, marry a woman." He shrugged.

"Can't believe The Outlaw wanted to get married, let alone adopting kids." She added.

"Maybe I sound like an old man Frostbite, but we are getting older by the day. Agree?"

She nodded.

"As for the woman. I think I'm gonna marry a blind woman."

"What the fuck?" Snow reacted. "Why a blind woman?"

"Now calm down Snow. Before you say lot of things, I have to clarify. Unlike you, I don't have the looks. And think, who wants to marry an outlaw like me? And if there is, chances are the woman is crazy."

 _Guess I'm crazy too..._ She shook her head and returned back to reality. "Hold on cowboy. Look you're ugly, but you're not _that_ ugly. You know what, try to shave that damn beard, and trust me, at least one woman would be attracted to you."

"And by your reaction, I think you're the crazy woman." Graves joked and giggled.

Snow cheeks reddened and continued with the notes in an effort to hide it.

"You know, enough about me. What you going to do after all of this?" Graves asked.

"You're not going to like it."

"Oh come on. You ain't going to tell me even one bit?"

"I never thought about it Graves."

"Bullshit, you're the one that started it."

"Fine. I'm going to be blind and marry an outlaw. Crazy isn't it?" She looked at Graves rather frustrated.

"Be serious will ya Snow?" Graves assumed it was a joke.

Snow sighed and look elsewhere for a moment. Then she finally spoke. "I want to be a teacher, a math teacher..."

Snow waited for a response but the only thing that she could see in Malcolm Graves face was nothing but interest. His right brow raised and he was silent and eager to listen. Graves motioned his head, telling her to continue without using any words. Her mouth slowly formed to a smile, to which she then continued without any feeling of shame or belittlement.

"I don't know if you know this, but the only reason I don't use a scope because is just exciting to calculate. A scope is a great tool but to me, is just cheating. Some people uses their gut to shoot, but I don't. Most of the time, I took in every factors of the situation. Such as wind speed, target distance, elevation, bullet velocity, and even the humidity.

She closed her eyes. "And when you pass through all the brainstorming phase, you only need to release your breath and slowly squeeze the trigger. Boom. Satisfaction.

Snow realized that she left reality again, she quickly opened her eyes to return back. "And for some reason, I felt that I might be a decent math teacher you know. What do you think Graves?"

"Well..." Graves closed his eyes. "I think you're reputation say it all Snow. You're going to be a great teacher. Guess I know who's going to teach my kids..."

"Really? Thanks Graves." She was happy to hear the compliment.

"Alright. I think that's enough chit chat for tonight. My eyes is just to heavy for me to lift it right now." Graves yawned and slept on his side, with his back facing Snow. "Once you finish, don't forget to close the window and blow off the lamp."

"No problem. Goodnight Graves."

"You too Snow."

...

It was suddenly cold for Graves, so cold that he returned to reality and not in his sleep anymore. He was starting to shiver, his body reacting to the temperature lowering to chilling degrees. He heard the wind started to sound, could Snow forgot to close the window?

Graves slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the window still open. But oddly enough, the first thing that he felt was something wrapping around his waist. Soon enough, Graves realized that his bed suddenly was tight on space. He need not to survey or care, it was already common sense that someone was sleeping with him without his consent. Graves released a long sigh.

A hand firmly hugging his body. His back felt the sensation of warmth. Graves turned back to confirm. The white hair sniper was sleeping soundly, breathing calmly with a smile on her face. Graves released another long sigh.

"Snow, Snow..." He muttered.

He sat up and scratched his head, then put away the hand from his body. He quietly moved and went to close the window. Without a sound, Graves joined the two window and locked it in place. Instantly, the room felt a bit warmer. The Outlaw turned back to see the next problem, a full grown woman in his bed.

Graves walked to the desk and looked at the sketch. The sketch had notes on the side, written in beautiful writing courtesy of Amanda Snow. Based on the notes, there's a lot of things that he needed to change to the design. But he let it be, he was too tired and would resume tomorrow morning. He blow of the fire in the lamp and the room went pitch black.

Returning back to his problem, Graves thought of maybe to rent another room. But this late, Jack should be in his sleep as well. He could use Amanda's room, but to search her key was another hassle. Frustrated and in desperate need for rest, Graves decided to sleep with her and imagined that Snow was not there to begin with.

Graves went to the other side of the bed, took the blanket and spread it wide. Graves laid beside her and cover himself with blanket. On the edge of the bed, the man adjust himself into a comfortable position and closed his eyes, hoping to have a good night sleep with the remainder of the night.

But then, Snow hands slithered around his waist and she moved closer towards him. Like before, she hugged him again and mumbled a few words. On the edge of his patience, Graves turned his body and decided to wake Snow up. But the moment when he saw her face, suddenly all his temper simmered down quickly. Suddenly, Graves felt calm seeing his friend sleeping soundly like a baby. Oddly so, even for him.

Graves moved closer and covered her with his blanket. At least the warmth both of them provided proved to be rather beneficial. Snow, in her sleep, moved in and dug her face on Graves chest. His eyes widen in suprise, not knowing how should he react on this type of situation., But then he remembered a saying. If you can't beat them, might as well join them.

Graves moved his hands around her waist and also underneath her head, then rested his chin on top of her head. He realized that the bed had more than enough space for the both of them. And for him, it was actually not a bad thing. They both embraced and warmth slowly eluded Graves to slumber. With the good fragrance of Snow's hair, it was not as bad as he thought it would be.


	8. Epilogue

The sun has taken the moon place and the morning aura was energetic as ever. The yordles continued their work, Jack and Graves were settling some business on the counter and Snow was nowhere to be found. The morning seem to give an impression that today would be a good day as the air was as fresh as ever.

Jack took another bug from a big jar and ate it simply, creating a crunch sound as if it was like a normal snack. He then pointed at the ledger with his wrinkly fingers, telling Graves to sign the ledger and pay. Graves bit a cigar, took the pencil and signed his signature that ended with a dot. He nudged the ledger to the old troll and Jack seemed to be satisfied with it. Then, he opened his hand and showed it to Graves, waiting for a bag of gold.

"Oh no Jack, let me see my cigars. Then you can have your payment." Graves smirked, previously he was almost scammed by Jack.

"Ugh... Can't you have a bit of trust to the old troll?" Jack growled, then snapped his finger.

With just a snap, three small wooden chest appeared on top of the counter. All coloured in shiny brown and had a lock on each one. The lid of the three chest slowly opened, revealing the contents of cigar. Graves inspected it and lifted each of the chest and felt the weight of it. Satisfied, he put down the box that he currently holding and held a bag of gold. He shook it just to prove to the old troll that he wasn't messing around.

"Send them to the usual places and that would be the end of it." Graves threw the bag at the old troll, to which he caught with care.

"Don't lock the safehouses Graves. Delivery workers are not lockpickers." Jack said, he then took one gold coin and bent it with his remaining teeth.

"You don't have to worry about it, there's a special place to put the chest without getting inside my safehouses." Graves affirmed.

"Morning guys." A voice said.

Graves turned and found it was Snow that hollered, already wearing her sniper uniform and packed to leave. Complete in her camouflaged sniper uniform but this time she did not wore the hood on and her long white hair was not tied. She smiled to Jack and nodded to Graves, he then nodded back. Snow put a bag of gold and signed the ledger that Graves previously used. After telling a few things to Jack, Snow and Graves walked away from the counter together.

"Already leaving Graves?" Snow inquired.

"Can't take a break for too long Snow. Or else who's goin' to feed my mouth?" Graves said. "You leaving too Snow?"

"Well yeah, I lost my sniper rifle and I need a replacement A.S.A.P. Thank you Graves for designing my new rifle." Snow paused, after taking a deep breath, she then spoke. "About last night, I'm really sorry for sleeping at your bed."

"Well it ain't a problem Snow, its not wrong to share a bed every once in awhile. Just so you to know, you really are a heavy sleeper. And I didn't know that you really like hugs."

"I... I... I could explain Graves." She stammered and embarrassed. "It was cold and you know when you sleep, you never know, you know."

"Calm down Snow, you don't have to be embarrassed." He chuckled in his breath. "Let's just assume that this would be a secret between the both of us."

"Promise?" Snow showed her pinky finger to Graves.

"Are you serious Snow? You seriously expect me to do that?" Graves not wanting to do such childish thing.

"Nope, we've been doing this before you went to The Locker. Might as well continue the tradition." She argued.

Graves looked at the pinky finger then back to Snow, shooking his head in disbelief. After a long sigh and thought, Graves made the pinky swear. After that, they both separated their finger then bump their fist.

"Boom. Is not that hard, isn't it Graves?" Snow cheered.

Without them realising, they already arrived at the door of the inn. Where beyond the door, was The Tsarin Forest and the world. Graves picked his shotgun and Snow opened the door for him. Graves walked through it and Snow followed behind, then stopped and looked at each other.

"So hope we'll meet again Graves." Snow offered her hand.

"Well don't need to bother about the hand shake Snow. Both of us want to go to Zaun right?" Graves said.

"Huh? You're going with me?" She was surprised with the sudden announcement. "Aren't you going to Demacia?"

"Nah, I think Zaun has a lot of rich people that need a man like me. Besides, what makes you think that you'd be safe with that puny pistol that you holding." Graves started walking.

"Hey!" Snow caught up with Graves and walked together. "This pistol is just as functional as my sniper rifle."

"Huh you wish!" Graves said.

The two mercenary then continue their journey, with the destination set on Zaun. And who knows, what adventure awaited for the two hired guns...


	9. Author's Thought

**Heyo, Author here.**

 **First thing first, I would like to say that I'm sorry for not updating the story earlier. I was taking a vacation and spend my time with my grandma while doing some other work that is not writing. So for those who waited this, I'm really sorry and I hope that you're satisfied with the story.**

 **As for the idea itself, I know the story is kinda bad but I just felt that I needed to write this. First it was in secret, then suddenly I felt that 'hey, just post this. Maybe some random person would love to read it." To which I'm surprised that someone followed the story. This was my first romance-ish genre story so wasn't expecting much. Thank you and I love you so much.**

 **So the idea suddenly came to my head with a "What if Graves had a sniper friend?", then it was just me imagining the story. Slowly from head became a chapter, then to my surprise, it became a short story. I just felt that, maybe it was cool to make a character for Graves, I mean the guy is just too badass sometimes in my opinion. Might as well need a character to leverage it.**

 **Some of you might think that Graves is kinda out of character. Which I agree mostly because I felt that whenever you meet with an old friend, you became a different you. Intentionally or unintentionally, is just human behaviour. I know Graves is an awesome guy but he's still a human being and that's my argument.**

 **Well that's it, I'm happy to announce that the story is completed and writing it was so fun. Who knows, might as well make another story about Amanda Snow and Malcolm Graves if it came to my head. Let time decide that I guess.**

 **I'm grateful you read this story and hopefully you would tolerate my english that is not so polish. Hopefully, we will meet again with another Graves story or even a different champion. What character shall we write next? Caitlyn maybe? Too mainstream... Or even Jayce? Too heroic... Ah!Maybe Kalista? Nah, just stick my cigar bro Graves for the time being.**

 **If you have time, might as well write a review and gave your thoughts about the story? What do you think? Is the story good? Is my writing bad? Or is Amanda Snow no fit to be Graves friend? Whatever it is, leave a review and we'll find out. Love you as always...**

 **C'ya Mates_**

 **Interested in more Graves? Do check my other story that is Graves : A Wanted Man.**

 **The art cover is created by Karipaku, search the name and you'll see the art.**


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